Shaving

[munchh]

I do love my Mach 3, but i was just looking at what you would do if the disposable world we live in couldn't work anymore, if the shops havent got any then yes i would go bearded, i have had well groomed facial hair since i could grow it and the wife does not like the look of me without it

So i will get myself the cut throught and see if i can use it, but until then 'real' mach3's off ebay are the way for me.

[pigeonsniper]

We have just found that gillette machIII razors are far cheaper to buy on e-bay than any of the supermarkets (inc Cost Co).

8 for £9, instead of the normal 4 for about £7!

They are so expensive, but i dont like to shave to often anyway.

But i have been looking at straight/cut throught razors as for about £25 you can get a nice modern titanium one and strop, got to be the way to go, anyone already gone back to one?

Shaving with a straight takes a long time to learn properly and involves a lot of labour intensive care of the razor (stropping and honing etc). I changed from cartridges to DE (Double edged) or Safety razors about 7 years ago and never looked back. There is a learning curve but it's not that difficult, you just have to learn to angle the razor and not press like you would with a cartridge. The bonus for me is that it's much more enjoyable, I get much better shaves, the blades cost peanuts compared to cartridges and it's very cheap and easy to stockpile them. For prepping they are ideal as they're useful for many things.
Cartridge systems are just Gillettes way of making money using the "subscription" business model which King Camp Gillette introduced many years ago. Doctors will advise people having skin problems not to use them and that's what led me to try DE razors. Cartridges are bacteria traps, it's much more hygienic to dry a safety blade and razor after each shave, bacteria doesn't survive on a clean dry surface.
Anyway, I'll get off my soap-box now! and yes, there are shaving forums where you can get advice, the Americans are mad for it

[Capa]

Oh my... I hadn't even thought of this! Thanks for the heads up, but I can't stand to be hairy and yet hadn't even vaguely given it a thought. Must get right on it!

[Spiderwebb]

Got my 1st Safety Razor last week as a result of reading this thread. To be honest, I'm struggling a bit to get a close shave. But the Proraso shaving soap is la dogs 'bits'. I'll stick with it and hopefully the technique will fall in. Big plus is the cost and wee benefit of not dumping plastic quite so much.

[pigeonsniper]

Got my 1st Safety Razor last week as a result of reading this thread. To be honest, I'm struggling a bit to get a close shave. But the Proraso shaving soap is la dogs 'bits'. I'll stick with it and hopefully the technique will fall in. Big plus is the cost and wee benefit of not dumping plastic quite so much.

Don't worry, it does take a bit of time and the blades vary by manufacturer and depending on your beard type. Also a razors effectiveness
varies from person to person. It took me a while to identify the right razor and blades for me personally but it was well worth it.
I can do a two pass shave in about 8 minutes these days and get closer than any cartridge, it took me a lot longer when I first started and the results were patchy. Stick with it, it gets a lot easier. A great shaving product and a great thing to have in a preppers kit is some Mitchells Woolfat shaving soap, it contains lanolin and is fantastic for the skin, it could also be used as general soap if needs be, it also lasts for ages.

[TwoDo]

For those who are not aware of it, it is possible (and pretty easy) to sharpen disposable razors. Here is a post I made a while ago containing a youtube video showing how to do it.

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=3936&hilit=razor

[23pioneer]

I would be too busy trying to fed the family to worry about this.

[madmedic]

i got a cut throat a few years ago just because it was much smaller to carry when traveling. it took a few months to get totally confident with it and get a good shave but once i did it was really easy. i now have one that uses safety blades and 1 solid blade. the problem will always be spare blades and replacing once worn out.

i still use my trusty mach3 and costco sell packs of 20 blades fairly cheap. that is enough blades to last most people a year shaving most days. and still would not take up that much room.

but i agree with the last post.. if SHTF shaving will be very low on my priorities.

also remembering shaving open pores and sometimes cuts.. that can let in infections..

[Brunel]

I'm always a bit wary of eBay - so much of it is knocked off, imitation junk. Amazon however are a lot more reliable - if it says it's Gillette Mach3, it is. And also cheaper than the supermarkets. You can bulk buy condoms from Amazon too - much cheaper than the local chemist - and as we all know they have many uses beyond the obvious!

[madmedic]

For condoms. Go to family planning they are free and they will give you a big bag full.. If they want a reason just say the wife/GF has broken arm and docs took her off the pill because of risk of Embolis.

they do flavoured ones and ribbed ones and all sorts of fancy ones.. Ermm a friend told me.